So I know lots of people in higher levels of dressage ride warmbloods... and I love warmbloods! Does anyone have a favorite warmblood breed they could tell me more about. Also, I might be looking for a horse here soon and was wondering if anyone knew about a breeder/ seller in the NW.

Hmmm... so if I can't find a good warmblood or if I want to expand my options, does anyone know a great breed to do dressage with? For now i'll only be doing lower level dressage so I don't need anything too fancy! What about mustangs? I love those too but since they seem like more of a western type horse (GREAT for trail riding and barrel racing though... haha ) would they be okay for dressage? Does anyone know where I could get one? I know BLM sells them but wouldn't be trained for dressage yet anyway... Thanks for any info you might have!

Yes mustangs can be great in dressage! Theres even a book on one who made it to the level below Olympic level. BLM does sell some of them trained but you would have to train them in dressage. It would be alot cheaper then a warmblood too!

(almost) Any horse can do basic dressage. For higher-level, people usually use Thoroughbreds, Oldenbergs, Hanoverians, Danish Warmbloods, Andalusians, Lustianos, Westphalians....and the list goes on. If you're just looking to start out, choose a horse with decent conformation, nice movement, and good natural self-carriage.

If you're starting out - don't worry about going for a WB. They're pricey, big moving and not set on 'auto pilot'.
You're best to find something that has 3 nice but not huge paces, that you can actually sit on and ride. It should be built slightly uphill, with good hock and knee action, and a naturally swinging back. Temperament should be quiet, trainable and forgiving. I go by the motto that you ruin you next horse a little less than the next one ;) So the more forgiving and trainable a horse, the more you're going to learn together and enjoy yourselves.

TB's are usually seen around in the lower to mid levels, not so much upper levels. Unless performance bred, or a 'one in a million' racing bred, they're just not put together well enough for dressage, and don't tend to have an appropriate temperament to deal with the pressure put on horses as they move up the levels.
Not saying they're all like that, hell, I purchased a TB straight off the track last year as a dressage prospect. Beautifully uphill, stunning hock and knee action, beautiful natural topline and desire to 'sit'. But his back is still, in typical TB fashion, very 'stuck'. He can 'fake it' at the lower levels, with his lovely paces, but once you start asking for laterals in a test it's very difficult if his back is not there.
A horse that doesn't have a naturally swinging back is difficult for an beginner rider to get going correctly, you won't get the feeling you should have on a horse that is moving easily over the back, so these horses should be left to more experienced riders.

Don't limit yourself to particular breeds - only look for what I have mentioned above - temperament, trainability, conformation and paces (not too huge!! - although paces do get you a few marks, if you're not able to ride them you won't be able to show good paces off and the horse will look worse than your average kids pony clubber!!)

Ok so in dressage, and really general flat work, a horse that is using its body correctly, will 'swing' it's back as well as move its legs. When you see horses that trot around and look very flashy, with 'flicky' front legs - 99% of the time these horses are not using their backs and are just 'leg movers' - which look speccy but is not correct.

To have a horse working correctly, we want to create energy in the hind quarters, using our leg and seat, this energy will travel over the horse's back and up to the bridle, where we must keep a contact to 'complete the circuit' (think an electrical circuit, the energy will not flow if there is a gap in the circuit. It is the same with a horse. If there is a block or gap in the circuit, the energy will not flow through the whole horse, and the work is not 'correct').

As the energy we create in the hind legs, circulates up through the back and to the bridle, then cycling back which is where you get your collection, the back muscles will 'engage' and lift. In some horses, the 'lift' in the back is so obvious that you feel as though they've grown an inch. The back is then able to swing with the horse's movement, and carry the rider.
This is opposed to a horse that travels by bracing it's back and moving it's legs. The ride is not so comfortable and the energy circuit is not connected as the back is blocked.
We achieve the swing and 'throughness' by using half halts and other exercises to engage the hindquarters. You should feel the back 'release', and the horse's movement will immediately become freer flowing and much more pleasant to ride.

Some horses will naturally swing over the back, meaning they're very loose over the back and it makes the rider's job of creating that 'electrical circuit' much easier. Others, like most TBs, will travel with a naturally stiff, braced back, and as a rider we have to be skilled and tactful enough to encourage the horse to release its back and build those muscles so that eventually it becomes more comfortable to travel with a soft back versus a tense/stuck back.

Success at the lower levels of Dressage depend more on the horse's attitude, conformation, paces and training than it's breed However, certain types can be better, a lighter horse with an uphill build and natural outline will find the training much easier than, say, a draught breed or an arab, but there is no reason why these breeds shouldn't do well at low level dressage, it is just a bit more of a challenge!

I competed my 13.1hh New Forest pony at Prelim and Novice level, and beat horses including warmbloods, not because he was a stunning animal with a flashy trot, but because he was obedient, worked in a rhythm and had straight, correct paces.

Here he is:

Gorgeous, but not exactly a Zangersheide horse!!

A common mistake is to go for a horse with flashy paces, and whilst a high degree of elevation is necessary in the top levels of dressage, flashiness in the trot can not only mask incorrect paces (dishing, brushing, not moving straight or tracking up) but for someone fairly new to the sport, it can be difficult to contain and so makes it much more difficult for the rider to hold the horse up together and maintain a rhythm. Paces can be improved upon immensely, especially the trot, so you are best judging a potential dressage horse by it's walk and canter.

These paces should be balanced, the horse should have a long, easy stride, moving freely through his shoulders and swinging through his hips. They should also be straight, both in front and behind, rhythmic and the horse should track up.

Many warmbloods are bred solely for dressage, and so innately have the right temperament and conformation, giving them a big advantage over the other breeds, and this is why you only really see wbs at the top of the game. But if you understand what it is in a warmblood's physical structure that make it so successful at dressage, you can look for these same traits in other (cheaper!) breeds.

I prefer a lighter, more compact warmblood, so my favourite is the Oldenburger!

I also really like the Selle Francais, although they can be tricky horses! And I believe are more geared toward showjumping.

As for other breeds that do well in dressage, Thoroughbreds are of course fantastic, and if you go for an ex racer, you can get a horse of amazing quality, that could have cost £100,000 to breed, for a tiny sum of money. Tbs are prone to flatness in their paces, and also carrying themselves on the forehand due to a downhill frame, because both of these things are desirable for racing. However they can be improved on, and there are actually plenty of thoroughbreds out there that naturally move like warmbloods! Here is a picture that demonstrates that, with Buck Davidson riding Triomphe!

Thoroughbred crosses can also make good dressage horses, I have seen amazing dressage horses with things such as Appaloosa, Connemara, Welsh and Arab in their breeding, coupled with thoroughbred.

Lastly, the Irish Sporthorse (and also other Sporthorses such as British or Australian) make fantastic dressage horses, and although may not show such dramatic paces as the warmblood, can have a lot of presence. Here is my own Irish Sport Horse, Solo.

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